Soluble ink fountain pen



April 23, 1935. R. B. KINGMAN SOIIJUBLE INK FOUNTAIN PEN Filed. Oct. 16, l1934 INVENTO R asveZZWQ/ J7 BTM@ ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 23, 1935 AUNITED STATES soLUBLE yiNrr FOUNTAIN PEN Russell B. Kingman, Orange, NVJ.

Application October 16,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the kindof fountain pens in which a writing fluid is formed by flowing water or other suitable solvent liquid in contact with' comparatively dry but 6 soluble ink material, the resultant writing fluid beingA delivered to the pen nib for writing operations therewith. l

This invention has for its principal object to provide a very simple and inexpensive fountain pen of the kind above referred to which comprises a minimum lnumber of parts so organized as to provide an easilyr accessible holding chamber for a cake of ink material, access to which, for refilling purposes, is attained by merely detaching the pen'nib and feed carrying throat section of the pen; and the inventionV has for a further object to provide a novel arrangement of water or solvent liquidsupply means for extension between a reservoir and the pen nib feed, such supply means having means of communication with the ink material holding chamber wherebyv the water or solvent liquid makes dissolving contact with the ink material to form the writing fluid desired for continued delivery through the pen nib feed to the pen nib.

Another object of this invention is to provide a 'novel' construction and arrangement of ink material holding chamber and water or solvent supply means in' such relation that the chamber surrounds the latter, whereby a solid ink material cake of novel annular perforate form may be inserted in the holding chamberso as to entirely surround the supply means and the means of communication between the latter and the chamber interior; the chamber thus formed and arranged being subject to endwise opening upon detachment ofthe 'pen nib and feedcarrying throat section from the pen' `barrel or body, whereby refilling inkV material cakes may be quickly inserted to replace such cakes after consumption in use.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel construction and arrangement of ink material holding chamber adapted to be charged with a considerable mass of ink material capable of supplying the vpen with writing uid over a very long period of use; and a further object is to provide an annular perforate soluble ink cake as herein shown and described.

Other objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated, will be understood from the following detailed description of the same.

Illustrative embodiments of this invention vare shown in the accompanying drawing, in which:-

1934, lserial No. 748,439

(o1. 12o- 42) v Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal section through a pen according to this invention showing one form thereof, the conventional closing cap attachable to the barrel being omitted; and Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View in part section and in part elevation, showing the pen disassembled for relling with an ink material cake.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary longitudinal section, similar to that of Fig. l but showing a somewhat modified construction; and Fig. 4 is also a fragmentary longitudinal` section showing another modified construction thereof.

Similar characters of reference are employed in the above described views, to indicate corresponding parts. Y y y Referring to the drawing, the reference character l indicates the hollow main body or barrel of the pen, the same beingexternally screw threaded at its lower end, as at 2, for attaching thereto a removable cap (not shown) adapted to enclose the pen nib when lthel pen is not in use. Said body or barrel 'l is open at its lower end and closed at its upper end in the conventional manner. The lower open end portion of said body or barrel l is lpreferably internally counterbored to form within the interior thereof, and inwardly spaced from its open end, `an annular shoulder 3. Inserted within the open lower end of the body or barrel and abutted against the shoulder 3 is a plug 4, the same being fixed in place rby cement or by any'other desired kmeans, of mechanical fastening. Integrallyv formed with Vsaid plugllto extend upwardly intothe body or barrelinterior is a neck 5 of reduced diameter, vover which is engaged the open lower endof a resilient sac 6, which is thus contained within the interior of the body or barrel and which provides the water or solvent reservoir. Also integrally formedV with said plug 4 to extend .axially downwardly therefrom toward the open end of the b ody orbarrel l is a conduit Ymember l, preferably of cylindrical'conformation. Extending downwardly `and centrally or axially through said neck 5, plug 4 and conduit member 'l is a duct or passage 8, which thus leads outwardly from the interior of said sac 6. By the arrangement of parts above described, there is formed at the lower' end of the body or barrel I, intermediate its open extremity and the plug 4, and surrounding said conduit member 1;. V

an annular holding chamber 9 adapted to receive and hold a charge of soluble ink material in surrounding relation to said conduit member l. The lower open end of the body or barrel I is internally screw-threaded, as at Il).

CII

' In the form shown in Figs. l and 2 of the drawing, the throat section is provided with' an axial bore i3 leading upwardly thereinto from its lower free end, and engaged in this bore I3 is a feed bar I4 and pen nibvI5. Provided at the .inner end of the throat section I I, to extend through the butt portion I2 to the bore I3 is an axial opening IB sized to receive the end of the conduit member 7, when the throat section is attached to the body or barrel I. The feed bar I4 is provided with a channel or duct Il which communicates with the duct or passage 8 of said conduit member 1, and which extends therefrom to the back of the pen nib I5.

It will be observed that whenthe throat section II is operatively attached to and assembled with the body or barrel-I, the former closes the holding chamber S which is situated between said throat section and the plug 4. Provided in the walls of that portion of the conduit member 'I which extends through and is exposed to the interior of said holding chamber 9 are one or more lateral openings or ports I8 affording communication between the duct or passage 8 of the conduit member 'I and the interior of said holding chamber.

The reference character I9 indicates a cake of soluble ink material of cylindrical form having an axial opening 2S therethrough of a size adapted to receive the conduit member 1. To load the pen, the throat section is detached, thus exposing the end of the conduit member 'I through the open end of the body or barrel I which opens into the holding chamber 9, whereupon the ink material cake i9 is inserted into the holding chamber 9, so that the conduit member 'I is disposed through the central opening 20 of the cake, whereupon the throat section II is reassembled with the body or barrel E, thus closing the ink material holding chamber so as to retain the ink material cake in surrounding relation to the perforate portion of said conduit member 1. f

When the pen is thus charged with a supply of ink material, the sac 6 is supplied with water or other solvent by any suitable self-Vlling means such as is ordinarily provided in fountain pens. In operation, when the pen is disposed in writing position, water or other solvent flows from the reservoir or sac E into and through the duct or passage 8 of conduit member 1, and' through the openings or ports I8 into the chamber 9 and thus in dissolvingcontact with the ink material contained in the latter, whereby a writing uid is formed which flows'through feed bar channel I1 to the pen nib I to issue from the latter during writing operations.

In Fig. 3 there `is shown a slightly modied form of the novel pen structure, wherein the throat section II is provided with an elongated butt portion I2 threaded to engage the internally threaded walls of the chamber 9 of the pen body or barrel I. Formed in said butt portion I2' is a socket 2 Il into which extends the conduit member I when the throat section is assembled with the pen body or barrel. The cake i9 of ink material may be deposited in the socket 2l preparatory to attaching the throat section to the pen body or barrel, thus affording an alternative method of loading the pen with the ink material supply.

In Fig. 4 another modified arrangement of the elements of the pen structure is shown, wherein the conduit member l is formed as an extension of the throat section II instead of an extension Vof the plug 4 as rst described. In such arrangement, the plug 4 is provided with an axial bore 22 in which the upper free end of said conduit member I lis telescopically received when the throat section is assembled with the pen body or barrel.

The functioning of the above described modified forms of the pen structure is the same as already set forth in connection with the rst described form of the pen.

I am aware that Various other changes could be made and many apparently widely diiferent embodiments of this' invention could be produced without departing from the scope thereof as defined in the claims appended hereto; consequently it is intended that all matter contained in the above description orshown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

l. In a fountain pen, a barrel interiorly arranged to provide a liquid reservoir means and a soluble ink material storage chamber, the latter chamber being accessible through the lower open end of said barrel, a throat section having a pen nib and a feed bar, said throat section being detachably engageable with the lower open end of said barrel in closing relation tosaid ink material storage chamber, and a conduit means axially disposed for extension through rsaid latter charnber so as to communicate at its upper end with said liquid reservoir means and at its lower end with said feed bar when the throat section is assembled to the barrel, said conduit member having means of communication between its passage and the interior of said ink material storage chamber, and an axially perforate soluble ink body receivable in said latter chamber in surrounding relation to said conduit member.

2. For use in a fountain pen of the kind described, a soluble ink body having a centrally disposed longitudinal opening extending from end to end thereof.`

3. In combination with a fountain pen of the kind described having an ink material storage chamber through which centrally extends a solvent conduit means leading from a source of solvent supply to the fountain pen nib and its feed means and which conduit means also has means of communication with the interior of said storage chamber, a soluble ink body having a centrally disposed opening extending from end to end thereof through which said conduit means may pass when said ink body is inserted in said storage chamber.

RUSSELL B. KINGMAN. 

